A professor of psychology and education, Dr. Lisa Miller ’84, this year’s Class of 1952 Speaker for Religious Understanding, described the connection between happiness and spirituality among children and adolescents. Such spirituality may come from organized religion, nature, or an activity like yoga or music. Dr. Miller directs the Clinical Psychology Program at Columbia University Teachers College and founded the Spiritual Mind Body Institute—the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology. Her innovative research into the quantifiable effects of spirituality on health, resilience and thriving has been published in top research journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association. As a clinical psychologist, her work focuses on spiritual awareness and growth for individuals, families, groups and organizations. She has spoken about her work on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and the “Today” show.
“Everyone is born with some innate spirituality. The most important thing you can do as a teenager is to expand this and establish a spiritual core. It will help protect you from the ‘holes’ in life. If you set it up now, you will live that way for the rest of your life.”